We are developing rapidly the tools of a police state straight out of Brave New World and 1984. All it will take is the government to turn on the switch and overnight our world will be transformed--all in the name of protecting us from ourselves. Medical records, credit card purchases, phone called, Internet activity, etc. will all be consolidated in one huge database. And supercomputers will be able to process this data to target groups and individuals. All very frightening.
Hayden is just another bureaucrat who is not concerned about individual liberties, but rather, doing a job with the best tools available. As long as we have human beings operating these systems, there will be abuse. 100% security should not be the metric used to determine what information the government should have on its citizens. The Constitution should be our safeguard--not Congress or secret courts.